If you're the proud owner of your very own (valid) student ID, you stand to save some serious cash – from travel to entertainment to household goods.  Check with any place where you're a regular shopper to see if they offer student discounts – they just might.  Here's a list to get you started:

1. Clothing – From Banana Republic to J.Crew, Top Shop and Club Monaco, your student ID can help you score discounts at major clothing retailers.

2. Technology – At Apple stores students can save up to $200 on a new Mac. Dell also has a discount program for students.

3. Shipping – Students get free membership to Amazon Prime for one year (a $79 value), which gets you free unlimited 2-day shipping on textbooks and all other Amazon items.

4. Dining – You can easily nab discounts at local restaurants and cafes around campus with your student card. Find discount listings in roughly 20 states at StudentSavingsClub.com.

5. Travel – For $25 you can register for the International Student Identity Card (ISIC) and in return you’ll be able to save hundreds of dollars on international travel. Domestically, students can also earn 15% off Amtrak tickets when they purchase the Student Advantage Discount Card ($20). The card also gets you discounts on Greyhound, American Airlines and Alamo Rent A Car, among other savings at major retailers and restaurants.

6. Museums – Museums welcome students with discounts of as much as 25% off. For example, the Museum of Natural History in New York City and the Philadelphia Museum of Arts entrance fees are just $12 with valid student ID compared to $16 for the general public.

7. Bulk Buys – Students can get a collegiate membership at Sam’s Club, which earns them discounts on groceries and laundry detergent, as well as 25 free photo prints, $10 off a year’s supply of contact lenses and an instant $15 gift card just for signing up for the program.

8. Theatres – Local theatres usually have specials days or show times reserved to offer students discounts. For example select AMC Theatres offer students a lower ticket price when they show a current high school or college ID on Thursdays.

These days, saving a buck or two is becoming increasingly important, but going out to eat doesn't have to break the bank. With the economy in limbo, people from all walks of life find themselves in need of bargains now more than ever – and what’s the best kind of bargain? A FREE one! Don’t get me wrong, I'll always clip a few-bucks-off-a-meal coupon, but I'm always on the lookout for the free goods, too.

Here are a few ways to add deliciousness to your stomach without subtracting money from your wallet:

BOGO – Next to “ESPN,” “BOGO” is the most important acronym known to the human race. BOGO of course stands for “Buy One, Get One,” with the latter typically offered at no additional cost to you, the consumer. Granted your meal won’t be entirely free, but nothing impresses a hot date like ordering them something of “equal or lesser value.” In all seriousness, before you go out to eat, always search the restaurant web site or the Internet for these valuable offers.

Happy Birthday - It’s your special day, so why not celebrate it in a fun and frugal way? Simply sign up at some of your favorite restaurants’ web sites. You’ll get special members-only deals all year long to tide you over until you get to the grand prize: The Birthday Coupon. Places like Coldstone Creamery (free ice cream) and Red Robin (free burger) are among the many establishments out there that can help make getting older a little easier … by taking it one free bite at a time.

Kids Eat Free – It’s tough to imagine anything more appealing than having your kids quietly color their paper placemats, leaving the grown-ups to chat without being interrupted. What's even better: when the hostess tells you “kids eat free!” Kids may have little tummies, but more often than not the price tag for kids’ meals is more costly than desired. Check out sites like www.kidsmealdeals.com and www.mykidseatfree.com for an easy way to browse local listings. Restaurants are typically packed on the weekends, so many local establishments will offer a Kids Eat Free promotion during the week to draw in more business. I should know: it's why I hit up Backyard Burger every Tuesday.

Next time you head out for dinner, try the tips mentioned above. It gives new meaning to the phrase “the best things in life are free” – and if you ask my 6 year old daughter, that definitely includes the free mac and cheese on the kids’ menu.

 

This won’t exactly incite your flight attendant to deploy the emergency exit and slide to the tarmac, but next time you’re flying, pull out a travel mug when they offer coffee, tea or other drinkage. Why? Because that’s what you will do if you aspire to attain the status of green java guerrilla like Sarah Wilson-Jones.

“They looked at me kind of funny, but think of all of the cups they go through on one flight and for the hundreds of travelers every day,” Sarah says, while taking a break in one of her five Phoenix Coffee shops throughout Cleveland, Ohio.

When it comes to sustainable and affordable coffee and tea drinking, she and her husband and master roaster, Carl Jones, know the drill.

To enlist in this merry band of smart coffee drinkers, you must first arm yourself with a travel mug. And you must do whatever it takes to remember to carry it at all times. By doing so, you'll do your part to cut back on waste. Think about it. One cup a day times countless days and years. And that’s just you.

Sarah’s stores – and hopefully the espresso slingers near you – offer a $.10 discount for mug bearers, and a $.10 upcharge for the mug-barren who request disposable, compostable cups. She also offers a $.25 discount for those who bring their own canister or reusable bag when purchasing their coffee beans or tea leaves.

Even if your favorite coffee haunt doesn’t offer discounts for being eco-friendly, packing a travel mug is still a smart practice. And don’t be shy, soldier. Start bugging your baristas to implement some of these savings and practices, too.

Now that you’ve signed up, here are a few more tactics for courageous coffee commandos.  After all, earth-changing times call for aggressive coffee and tea drinking strategies:

? Use coffee or tea grounds as compost on your plants.

? Buy premium teas, especially green and white teas that can be infused twice or more before you do what? Right. Use them for compost.

? Make a giant ‘green impact’ by buying locally roasted Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance coffee.

? Strongly encourage your shop to use washable ceramic mugs and glasses, if they don’t already. “They have a sink, don’t they?” Sarah quips.

? Just as strongly encourage your cappuccino carriers to make real spoons available for stirring to eliminate disposable stirrers. Sarah says she’s heard of one shop using uncooked linguine noodles as stirrers, which are at least compostable. And interesting. Washable spoons, however, save waste.

? If you can employ burlap bags for mulching cloth, art, kids crafts, three-legged races or other purposes, inquire if they keep the coffee bags at their roastery. Phoenix even gives the chaff that gets separated in the roasting process to a local farmer for compost.

Photo credit: Nevit Dilmen

For the last couple of years, I've been making my own fermented foods – yogurt, sauerkraut and kombucha. It isn't hard to do, requires little in the way of expensive equipment and the results are usually delicious. As a bonus, my home made versions are much cheaper than their commercial counterparts, too. I can make a pint of kombucha for about 5 cents (the only purchased ingredients are sugar and tea bags), compared to the three bucks most stores charge for the stuff.

My kids like the yogurt I make, but they refuse to eat the sauerkraut or drink the kombucha. Last week, however, I started making a fermented beverage that they love: ginger ale. The great thing about home made ginger ale is that it uses real ginger (a lot of the store bought stuff has artificial flavors) and it uses real cane sugar instead of the cloying, goopy high-fructose corn syrup found in most soft drinks today. The other benefit is that you can experiment with the recipe until you find something that suits you.

I started making ginger ale after my friend Orli sent me this recipe she found online. The first time I made it was a bit of a disaster. I substituted 1/2 cup of honey (which came from the beehive I keep in our backyard) for the 1 cup of sugar the recipe calls for. After combining the ingredients, I poured the mixture in one of those swivel-topped bottles that fancy French lemonade comes in. I set the bottles on the kitchen counter for 24 hours and let the yeast work its magic.

Because I was unsure about the amount of fizziness the ginger ale would have, I put the bottle in the sink before uncorking it. With one hand over the top of the bottle to serve as a splash guard, I lifted the lever. A powerful jet of frothy ginger ale whooshed from the bottle, rebounding off my hand and splashing forcefully into the sink. The hissing fountain lasted for several seconds. The atomized beverage, strong with the essence of ginger, stung my eyes and my lungs. When the eruption subsided there was just a few ounces of liquid remaining in the bottle. I poured it into a glass and took a sip. There was no sweetness, and curiously, not much of a ginger taste either. I asked my wife to sip it and she almost gagged. She said it had an intolerable sulfur smell and taste. I hadn't noticed it but when I tasted it again I could sort of convince myself that there was a sulfurous tang.

I figured I'd used too much yeast, so for the next batch I used just an 1/8 of a teaspoon for one half gallon of ginger ale. I also used plastic screw top bottles instead of the lemonade bottle. I used a cup of sugar and about one-and-a-half times as much ginger as before.

24 hours later, I slowly unscrewed the lid, relieving the pressure gradually. It took over a minute for the pressure to subside. But the wait was worth it. The ginger ale was tangy, sweet, crisp and effervescent. Everyone in the family declared it a success.

And so, here is the modified recipe that I'm happy with:

2 tablespoons of grated ginger (50 cents)

1 cup white sugar (30 cents)

1 whole lemon (I get them free from a tree, but they cost about 25 cents in the store)

1/8 teaspoon or even less of yeast (less than ten cents)

A half gallon of filtered water

1. With a funnel, pour sugar and yeast into the bottle.

2. Finely grate the ginger and place in a measuring cup.

3. Squeeze the lemon's juice into the measuring cup and mix with the ginger.

4. Pour the mixture through the funnel into the bottle. Use a straw to push the pulp into the bottle. Put cap on and shake until sugar is dissolved. Set the bottle in a warm (not hot) place for 24 hours.

5. Open cap slowly. Pour into glass with ice and enjoy.

(I happen to like the ginger pulp, but you can use a strainer if you prefer not to have it.)

The price of a 750ml bottle of premium ginger ale, such as Reed's, is about $4.50. My ginger ale costs about 85 cents for the same amount and I think it tastes fresher and better. Making ginger ale is fun, easy, economical and delicious. I'll keep doing it.

There’s more to protecting your money in college than avoiding credit card debt. Whether your roommate eats all your food, misses a utility payment, or friends pressure you to spend, here are six solid money management tips for college students.

1. Avoid Lending Money. In college, when roommates ask you to “spot” them for a purchase, know that they’re really asking you for free money. It’s rare to ever receive friendly “loans” back in full. Knowing this, don’t lend money you cannot afford to part with to a friend. Of course, if your friend is in a jam in the checkout line and you can spare it, spot him, but follow up by asking him to either spot you for lunch soon or pay you back ASAP. If he does opt to spot you, don’t let him forget! Address the situation quickly and you're more likely to get your money back in good time.

2. Collect Rent Online. If your name is on the lease, you need to set up a system to collect rent payments from all your roomies. Manage your rent payments online with sites like WePay.com, ShareaBill.com and BillSplit.com, which offer hassle-free online group payments and payment history tracking. (Note: these sites typically charge a small transaction fee). If a roomie fails to pay and your name is on the lease, you’re responsible for making the full rent payment on time. An out-of-hand roommate deserves to be evicted. Get help from you landlord to do so.

3. Track Utility Payments. If your roommate is in charge of collecting and making payments each month, find out whether your name is also on the bill. If she forgets to pay one month, you’re on the hook. A college friend got a phone call from a collection agency telling her she and her roommates owed less than $20 on a utility bill from several years back when they were seniors. Know the statue of limitations for collection agencies in your college’s state. WePay, ShareaBill and BillSplit can also help manage utility bills with groups.

4. Communicate Kitchen Rules. If you share an apartment with roommates, set ground rules for the kitchen, unless you want to come home to find your Pop-Tarts missing. Everyone should have a group meeting and agree on the best way to manage the food in the home and be conscious of everyone’s budget. There’s also the Grocery IQ, which you can download to your iPhone or iPod Touch to get coupons for items at the grocery store.

5. Suggest Affordable Social Activities. Avoid the pressure to spend more than you have by taking the lead when planning social outings. How about pre-gaming at someone’s apartment first to avoid spending as much at the bars? Check myopenbar.com to find free drinks and happy hours in select cities. Restaurant.com also issues coupons and gift certificates for over 6,000 eateries around the country. Sites like Groupon.com and LivingSocial.com offer major discounts on social activities across the country. And if your friends invite you to go skiing in the Alps for Spring Break, either find a job fast or simply say you have other plans for the holiday. Don’t your friends drive you into debt!

6. Get Renters’ Insurance. If your apartment catches on fire or gets burglarized, renters’ insurance can save you thousands of dollars to replace lost or stolen items from your laptop to furniture, clothes and jewelry. It costs as little as $16 a month – as much as a large pizza. If you have a roommate, each of you needs your own policy.